Josh Augusta to Missouri: Tigers Officially Land 4-Star DT Recruit

Josh Augusta is a rising defensive tackle prospect, and he has officially made his decision as to where he will play college football. The Peoria High School superstar out of Illinois is the newest member of the Missouri Tigers.

Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel took to Twitter today to welcome Augusta to the Tigers' family:

The 6’5”, 295-pound recruit was highly coveted by a number of programs across the nation, but Pinkel was fortunate enough to bring him aboard as part of his impressive 2013 class.

According to 247Sports' composite rankings, Augusta is a 4-star prospect and is the 19th-best player at his position this year. He is ranked at No. 236 overall in the nation and is pegged as the ninth-best recruit coming out of Illinois in this year's class.

There’s a ton of upside in this young man. There's also a chance he could find a new position—likely along the offensive line—due to his sheer size and power. Augusta has a ton of strength and should only improve in that area when he gets into Missouri's weight training program.

However, he is also extremely raw and needs to work on his hand movements and separation from blockers. Once he’s able to do this, he will be an unstoppable force at the collegiate level.

Before committing to the Tigers, the Peoria star had received scholarship offers from programs such as Illinois, Ole Miss, California, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Michigan and Texas A&M, among others.

It’s clear that he’s a highly regarded young talent and many coaches were dreaming about molding him into their defensive tackle of the future. Fortunately for coach Pinkel, the Tigers made the best pitch. Now, Augusta will look to improve on his already impressive talents.

With such a mature frame, Augusta has room to grow. His ceiling is very high and he has the skill set to become a versatile player along the defensive line moving forward.

Though he can improve his technique and footwork as he progresses, his raw abilities are undeniable, making him a very promising prospect.

In time, he should be a major asset for Missouri for the next few years.